Estrogen Dominance and Your Health

Do you feel sluggish? Anxious? Have trouble losing weight? Are your menstrual cycles unbearable? Then you could be suffering from estrogen dominance.

Estrogen dominance is a condition that affects both men and women. Its effects can be seen as early as puberty and can extend well into menopause (for women). Yet, the condition goes largely undiagnosed and untreated. It is a condition that can build up over time, with symptoms increasing in frequency and severity as the individual gets older. Estrogen dominance has been linked to certain types of cancer as well certain autoimmune disorders. It is a condition that, if left unchecked, can wreck havoc on a person’s physical and emotional well being.

What is Estrogen?

Estrogen is a naturally occurring steroid sex hormone that is produced in the bodies of men and women. It is largely produced in the ovaries of women, but small amounts are also produced by the liver, adrenal glands, breasts and fatty tissue. In women, it influences the development and maintenance of secondary female sex characteristics (breast development), regulates menstruation and maintains pregnancy. It also influences cell growth, blood clotting, bone strength, circulatory health, metabolism, muscle mass, fat storage and fluid balance. In men, it is also involved in sperm development and libido.

Estrogen works hand in hand with other hormones, namely progesterone. Progesterone helps to regulate a woman’s menstrual cycle and ensures the health and well-being of a developing baby in utero. It prevents spontaneous abortion by the uterus and promotes milk production in the breasts. It is considered the “antagonist” of estrogen, so as progesterone production increases, estrogen production decreases. The problem is that the opposite is also true, as estrogen production increases, progesterone production decreases. Most estrogen dominance is also identified as progesterone deficiency.

Signs of Estrogen Dominance

The combination of too much estrogen and not enough progesterone can cause a lot of problems in the body. Young girls are experiencing menstruation as early as 9 years old, which is due to estrogen dominance. Certain cancers are fed by estrogen, so the risk of those cancers also increases. Certain autoimmune disorders such as lupus and thyroid disease have also been linked with estrogen dominance.

Here are a list of some other signs of estrogen dominance: *

Breast tenderness

Mood swings/PMS

Fluid retention

Weight gain

Irregular menstrual cycle

Weight gain, especially around the abdomen, hips and thighs

Hair loss

Depression with anxiety or agitation

Fatigue

Slow metabolism

Thyroid dysfunction

Adrenal exhaustion/fatigue

Headaches, migraines

Allergies, including asthma, hives, rashes, and sinus congestion

Severe menstrual cramping

Heavy, prolonged periods with clotting

Joint and muscle pain

Decreased libido

Insomnia and restless sleep

Dry eyes

Prostate issues (men only)

Uterine fibroid tumours

Endometriosis

Fibrocystic breasts

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Fibromyalgia

Infertility

Thickened uterine lining

Accelerated aging

Autoimmune disorders

Miscarriage

Anxiety and panic attacks

Oestrogen related cancers

Impotency

I’ve highlighted the symptoms that I’ve been experiencing, especially the last two years. I also suspect it may be causing some infertility because I’ve had such a difficult time getting pregnant since my miscarriage. Other symptoms I’ve had since I was a teenager. Chances are, my body produces excessive amounts of estrogen anyway, but we are also exposed to estrogens in our everyday lives that build up in our bodies and cause estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance affects about 50% of all women in western society.

Types of Estrogen

Steroidal estrogen – This is the estrogen that is naturally produced in the human body.
Synthetic hormones – Namely, these are the hormones that are fed to livestock and that we consume through meat, eggs and dairy.
Phytoestrogen – Some plants such as soybeans, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, bok choy, brussels sprouts, flax seed, alfalfa sprouts, dried prunes, and whole grains (just to name a few) contain phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are weaker than steroidal or synthetic estrogens. Because the body still recognizes it as an estrogen, it can implant itself into receptor sites and block other, stronger estrogens.

Xenoestrogen – This is a synthetic estrogen that is present in a number of toxic substances in our environment including plastic, solvents, pesticides and petrochemicals. Xenoestrogen mimics steroidal estrogen in the body and is much more powerful than phytoestrogen. They are fat soluble and build up in the body.

What’s the Deal with Sugar?

I’ve heard a number of people erroneously accuse sugar as mimicking estrogen in the body. This is not true; however, sugar is related to estrogen dominance. Sugar causes a decrease in magnesium levels. Magnesium and B6 are necessary to neutralize estrogen in the liver so it can be metabolized. Moral of the story, limit your sugar intake (and supplement magnesium).

Bonnie was raised in a small farming village in central Ohio where she was active in 4-H and FFA. She grew up surrounded by a large family who taught her how to can, garden and cook from scratch. Now living in Florida and raising two outrageous kids, Bonnie is running the family farm where they raise chickens, ducks, goats, pigs and horses. She also enjoys teaching her kids how to live off of the land, appreciate God’s creation, and live a simpler life.

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8 Comments

Jennifer
on May 23, 2015 at 8:35 pm

I am so glad to have found this. I have many of the symptoms in the list, and I had come the conclusion that I probably had estrogen dominance. I did not know where to begin to heal myself. I will certainly be trying those two supplements! Thank you for sharing!

Thank you for stopping by. Please let me know if you’ve seen some symptom relief. I love to hear when I’ve been able to help someone else. I’ve had great success with these supplements including increased fertility and some very nice weight loss. (I know, those two sound like inverses. LOL)

I have such a hard time with all of this. So many great suggestions here, but everything gets upended because of my Hashimoto’s disease. And not just with estrogen-related things; every time I think I’ve come across and new tool to add to my health arsenal, I find out that it’s actually bad for the thyroid. I feel like I can’t win 🙁 BUT this is a great piece you’ve written, and I did find some good info here. Thank you.

I’m so sorry to hear that. Thyroid issues are so tough since you have to try to avoid all outside estrogens. Have you tried going plastic free? That seems to be the source of a lot of xenoestrogens, along with everything else in our environment. But I’m glad you enjoyed the article and it could benefit you in some small way. Thank you for stopping by.

Thank you for this article.
It is so insightful.
The thing that really helped balance my hormones was by going to a Kinesiologist. The human body was designed to run like a well oiled machine, so I often think it wouldn’t over produce unless we were doing something to influence that. I’ve also cut down on processed food and only use natural products especially detergents.

Eating clean and using natural products certainly helps. The more we can limit external estrogens, the better. But there will always be some genetic component. Two people can be exposed to the exact same diets and environments and one can get sick while the other is perfectly healthy. Plus, sometimes something can happen that prevents our bodies from processing toxins properly. In my case, it was a combination of a c-section, followed by a miscarriage, plus a supplement that was later recalled due to causing liver damage. Add to that daily anxiety and migraine meds and I was a hot mess.

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